This application is a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 898,090, entitled "Apparatus and Method For Inspection and Testing of Industrial Power Saws or the Like," which is incorporated by reference as if set forth fully here. A microfiche appendix of 387 frames is included as a part of this application.
The present invention pertains to a method and means for selecting complex parts such as blades for industrial power saws. More particularly, a portable unit is provided that is operable to select an optimum choice of blades for band saws and the like, to analyze the cost of using a particular blade to produce a product, and to recommend solutions to problems experienced by users of band saws. The unit can be operated to select chains for chain hoists, wire wrapping machines for winding wire around electric terminals, and other such parts.
The operation of material cutting machines such as band saws, power hacksaws and other types of metal cutting apparatus is subject to performance requirements which should be frequently observed or reviewed to determine when the productivity of these machines has fallen beneath design or optimum levels. It is also possible that the operational condition of the machine may represent a safety hazard.
Industrial power band saws, for example, are often operated with an improper blade for the particular type of material being cut, a dull blade, or some other machine operating condition that is less than optimum. Because industrial power band saws and the like do not have the technical sophistication of a computer-controlled machine tool, they are often at the bottom of the routine maintenance priority list. This is unfortunate because the proper continued maintenance of a material cutting machine to assure operation at its optimal performance conditions can result in significant cost savings for a shop or factory owner.
Compounding the difficulty of improving the performance and operation of these material cutting machines is the fact that this type of equipment is often located in a factory setting where it may be placed in close proximity to other machine tools or busy material storage areas. Such locations make these machines difficult to analyze, to maintain and to service. Typically machines such as industrial power band saws are run until breakdown, then they are repaired and serviced.
It is normally the task of a saw sales engineer, maintenance engineer or plant industrial engineer to review the performance of a power saw in the actual working environment of the saw itself. Such an environment, in conjunction with the limited time normally available to perform necessary tests and performance evaluations does not lead to the type of thorough review and evaluation of saw operating conditions and performance necessary for an accurate analysis of all operating parameters. It is also desirable that the evaluation of the operating conditions and performance of a material cutting machine such as a power band saw or the like be presented in a format that is easy to use to provide a complete record of the operational history of the machine. Such a record facilitates machine life maintenance reviews and the planning of an effective maintenance program. It is to solve these problems of analyzing, recording and improving machine performance that the present invention has been developed. The apparatus that is used for analyzing machine performance is also adaptable for use with externally inserted data to select the optimum band saw for a particular set of operating conditions, to analyze the cost of using a particular blade, and to recommend solutions to problems involving band saws.
Accordingly, there is provided by the present invention an improved apparatus and method which will record and reproduce information regarding the operating condition and performance of a material cutting machine such as an industrial power saw and the like. Such apparatus and method is usable at the operating location of the material cutting machine and will produce, in a minimum amount of time, an easy-to-read record of the operational status of the machine for compiling an operational history and a programmed maintenance plan. The apparatus and method is also usable away from the operating location so that an operator of a band saw can enter parameters to enable the selection of an optimum blade for a given use, to analyze the costs of using particular blades, and to recommend solutions to problems experienced by such an operator.